Benjamin Williams CROWNINSHIELD, Congress, MA (1772-1851)

CROWNINSHIELD, Benjamin Williams, (brother of Jacob Crowninshield), a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Salem, Mass., December 27, 1772; prepared for college; engaged in mercantile pursuits in Salem, Mass.; member of the State house of representatives in 1811; served in the State senate in 1812; appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Madison December 19, 1814; reappointed by President Monroe and served in this capacity until October 1, 1818, when he resigned; again a member of the State house of representatives in 1821; elected as an Adams-Clay Republican to the Eighteenth Congress; reelected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses; and reelected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1823-March 3, 1831); chairman, Committee on Naval Affairs (Eighteenth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress; again a member of the State house of representatives in 1833; resumed his former business pursuits; died in Boston, Mass., February 3, 1851; interment in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present